Tuesday
Safehouse F
The second day dawned.
I grinned as I saw Bruce and Selina eating their breakfast. They looked tired, even after only one day.
"Sleep well?" I asked.
"Yes, thanks, Chloe."
"I'd like to say that it's only going to get easier; but then I'd be lying!" I grinned.
"Thanks, Chloe – I really mean that; thanks!" Selina said with a scowl.
Hailee breezed into the kitchen.
"You two are gonna need these, this morning."
Two large black objects were thrown down onto the table.
"What?" Bruce asked the grinning Hailee.
"Wear them under your Gi."
Bruce looked at Selina, who just grimaced.
Body armour!
That could not be good. What could they have planned for us today?
Selina looked at me and grimaced.
Once on the mat, Hailee explained all – well nearly all!
..._...
"Eventually, you will both be wearing combat suits. What was your first thought when we dressed you in Hit Girl's combat suit?" Hailee asked Selina.
"It was heavy!"
"Exactly – armour has weight, so does your weapons, ammunition, communications... The list goes on. You need to start getting used to fighting and moving while lugging your life with you. By 'life', I mean everything that you require to survive out there, in the real world," Hailee finished.
Hailee and Erika ensured that the armour was properly secured and then we got to work.
"Weapons!"
I stood behind a large workbench in the armoury.
"As a vigilante you may be called upon to use any weapon, at any time. You will have your own personal weapon, but you may need to use any weapon that your team is using. You may also need to make use of an enemy's weapons," I lectured. "A vigilante needs to be familiar with as many weapons as possible. Today is firearms."
I saw Bruce flinch slightly. I knew that Bruce hated guns, which was understandable considering that his parents had both been murdered with a pistol.
"Here we have an eclectic collection of weapons – ooh, 'eclectic', I like that word!"
Bruce, Selina and Erika laughed. I picked up two large books and passed them to Bruce and Selina. They looked confused.
"Easy morning for you. There are eighteen weapons on the bench. I want chapter and verse in two hours! There will be a punishment for every mistake – so take your time and get it right..."
..._...
Erika and I sat on the mat outside the armoury and listened in.
"I've seen that one before – it's an E11 blaster – Stormtroopers use it!" Bruce said first, after a couple of minutes.
"What!" Selina answered, scorn in her voice.
"Star Wars!"
"Get a fucking grip, Bruce! I've seen them used in Gotham; it's a Sterling sub-machine gun – Star Wars, I ask you!"
Erika was trying not to laugh and so was I, unsuccessfully though!
Two hours later
"You guys done?"
"Yeah, Hailee – we are," I answered, smiling at Bruce.
It had not been easy, but we had managed it.
"Leave your notes there and come out onto the mat," Hailee advised. I did not really notice it then, but Hailee ran her eyes over our upper bodies before smirking.
I detected trouble once Bruce and I had cleared the armoury and the door was slammed shut by Erika. Then Erika and Hailee suddenly dived away, rolling into cover. I span around as I heard a loud bang and I saw Bruce fly backwards onto the mat. I turned in time to see Mindy holding a pistol and aiming it at me. There was a flash, followed by a bang. I had no time to scream before I felt something strike my chest, very hard and I flew backwards onto the mat. I stood back up, facing away from Mindy, rather painfully and then I was shoved forwards as I heard another bang and something hit me in the back, just as hard. I saw Bruce get up, but following another bang, he fell back to the mat, too.
I just lay there letting the pain subside and trying to get my breath back. My ears were ringing from the gunshots. I rolled onto my back and saw a hand reaching down to me; it was Mindy. I grabbed the hand and allowed Mindy to haul me to my feet; she was very strong for her size. Once I was back to my feet, Mindy cleared the pistol, ejecting the magazine and the chambered round.
Bruce was being helped up by Erika and Hailee.
The kitchen
"Sorry about that, but you both needed to learn what it feels like to be shot," Mindy explained.
"It's happened to us all, at one time or another. You need to be able to continue the fight, ignoring the bullets that hit your combat suit. Every strike will hurt, but you have to continue, no matter what." Hailee explained.
"In a major fight there are bullets flying everywhere. Our combat suits protect us against all small to medium calibre weapons. Only Kick-Ass and Jackal carry the heavier armour that can stop high-powered assault rifles such as the AK-74 series. As Hailee explained to you, armour is heavy and we all wish we could carry the heavy stuff that can stop a heavy machine gun, but that is never gonna happen!" Mindy added.
"It stings!" Selina moaned.
"You could have warned us!" I complained.
"Where's the fun in that, Bruce?" Mindy laughed.
"Funny! Really funny!"
"I don't like guns..."
"I know, Bruce, but they are an important part of what you want to become. I rarely use them myself, preferring my blades, however sometimes you need to go in full force," Mindy explained.
"I'll try, I promise."
"Now watch as I strip this Glock 17 Gen 4. It is a very easy pistol to strip down." I began. "First you remove the magazine. The Glock 17 has no safety, so there is no need to set that. Pull back the slide and visually check that there is nothing in the chamber, release the slide and ease the spring by pulling the trigger with the pistol aimed in a safe direction. Weapon safety is paramount in our business. Shooting yourself is embarrassing!"
"You talking from experience, Mindy?" Selina asked.
Mindy blushed slightly.
"Yes and no, I'm not telling you anything!" Mindy growled, blushing a little more.
"Mindy..."
Mindy looked like she was about to explode, but turned to Bruce and smiled.
"I'll make you a deal. Get a score of forty on the range by Saturday morning and I'll tell you one of Hit Girl's most humiliating stories!" Mindy offered.
"You've got it!" Bruce said with a huge grin.
"I want to hear this, so I'll make damn sure you get that score!" Hailee added.
"Fuck!" Mindy growled before continuing her lecture. "Always assume that your weapon, any weapon is loaded and dangerous, until you can confirm otherwise, understand?"
"Yes, Mindy."
"Yes, Mindy."
"The slide is taken out by holding the pistol like so and pull back the slide about a quarter-inch. Pull down the slide lock with your thumb and finger, like so. Release the slide forward, carefully. Remove the slide and turn it upside down. Remove the recoil spring assembly out and then remove the barrel. The pistol is now 'field stripped'.
"For now we are not going to strip the pistol any further, but in this state you can clean and inspect the weapon. The two main sections, ignoring the spring and barrel, are called the upper and the receiver. We will show you how to strip each section, but not now as it is complex and it is easy to miss components during the reassembly.
"Chloe managed to reassemble a Glock forgetting to replace the locking block pin in the right order which meant that her pistol locked back each time she fired it! She was more than a little embarrassed by that incident, which could have been disastrous if she had taken that pistol out and into action."
I was very nervous as I stood on the range and stared down at my target, twenty feet away.
I held the Glock 19 in both hands. It was smaller than the Glock 17 which we had been handling earlier, but fitted my hands better. I had just inserted a magazine that contained five nine-millimetre round and I was very much aware that I was holding a lethal weapon that could kill somebody if I was not careful.
Beside me, I could see Selina, in the same stance as myself with a Glock 19 in her hands. She looked very beautiful from where I was looking. I focussed back on my target. Hailee was beside me, ready to help as necessary. Erika was with Selina. Mindy had gone, as it was almost time to collect the twins from school. I was looking forward to meeting the twins.
"Ready!" Hailee called out so that we could hear her with our ear defenders on.
I nodded and so did Selina.
"Five rounds – begin!"
I sighted on my target and took three breaths, holding the last, as I had been taught. I gently squeezed the trigger and felt the pistol jerk in my hands, but I held it tightly and absorbed the recoil. I sighted back on the target and squeezed the trigger again, and again, and again, and again.
The slide locked back on the empty magazine. Beside me, Selina's pistol was the same and she was grinning.
To my surprise, so was I!
My smile vanished as the target came quickly towards me on the motorized track.
There were only three holes on the target and only one within the larger black circle. I peered over at Bruce's target and my mouth dropped open. The brat had three within the larger circle, with one within the next circle. There were five holes on his entire target. I scowled at the boy.
"Well done Bruce!" I said.
"Thanks, Selina."
"Your forty is in the bag, kid!" Hailee grinned.
That afternoon we were joined by Joshua.
I liked Joshua, he was cute, although I did not dare tell anybody else that or Chloe would rip me apart! He was tall, but thin and I could see the muscles on his arms.
"I have a talent that I learned from my father; he was a British Royal Marines Commando and a member of the Special Boat Service. He taught me many skills before he was murdered by Ralph D'Amico."
Josh swiftly pulled something out of his belt and threw it across the Safehouse. There was a thud and a large knife appeared in a wooden target that was cut to mimic the profile of a grown man. Josh moved again and a second knife joined the first, barely an inch apart.
"Shit!" I breathed, exchanging astonished looks with Bruce.
Josh returned with the two knives that had required a good sharp pull to remove them from the wooden target.
"The Fairbairn-Sykes Commando Knife is the Spitfire of the knife world. It is an all-time combat classic. The knife has taken many lives since its inception during World War II. The knife provides excellent grip in both the dry and the wet. The scabbard is designed for silent drawing of the blade. As you can see, it can also be thrown with devastating effect. I have used them while fighting with Fusion, more than once."
I did not dare say a word, I was so enthralled by what Josh was saying and I loved his accent!
"I am the only person in Fusion who uses this knife. Others use smaller, dedicated, throwing knives. Although Shadow has a small blade that she hides on her person, in a different place each time. Mindy never knew she carried it, until Chloe needed to use it to escape when she was seized last year. It is for stabbing or cutting, not throwing. My knives are for stabbing and cutting throats, or throwing. Hit Girl's blades and those of Splinter, are purely for throwing and they are both very good with them! Chloe and Mindy also habitually use the Balisong or butterfly knife and both have killed with them. Curtis is also proficient with the Balisong. I am going to teach you how to throw the smaller blades first and then we will see how you go..."
I had to admit that I liked blades, I thought that they were – sexy – they killed with a cleanness that firearms could not.
"There are three different kinds of knives that are intended for throwing: blade-heavy, handle-heavy, and balanced knives. Balanced knives are easiest for beginners and they will make switching to the other kinds easier. Remember that you want the weight to be thrown first. If you are throwing a blade-heavy knife, you will want your blade to be thrown first. Hold the knife by the handle to throw it and vice versa; if you are throwing a handle-heavy knife, you will throw it by the blade.
"Okay. Grip the knife with your dominant hand. There are three, gripping methods that you can choose from; a firm but delicate hold is necessary for all gripping styles. Too much grip will hamper your release, whereas too little might cause the knife to fly out of your hand prematurely.
"Hammer Grip: Grip the handle of the knife as you would the handle of a hammer; place the handle across your open palm near your knuckles, wrap your four fingers underneath and around the handle, and place your thumb over the top. This grip is especially useful for throwing a double-edged blade.
"Pinch Grip: For a Single-Edged Blade, hold your palm out in front of you and move your thumb to create a crease between the fleshy pad of your thumb and the rest of your palm. With the handle pointing away from you, place the blunt edge of the knife blade into this crease so that the tip lines up with the bottom of your thumb crease. Place your thumb along one side of the blade and all your fingers except the little finger along the other side, thereby pinching the blade without pressing against the point or the sharpened edge. For a Double-Edged Blade, with the handle pointing away from you, grasp the tip of the knife so that the tip of your thumb is one side of the blade and the tips of all your fingers except the little finger are on the other side, thereby pinching it without pressing against the point or either sharpened edge. This grip does not allow for a powerful throw."
Josh was really, very good at instructing and he demonstrated well.
"Angle the knife. The angle dictates how fast the knife goes through the air and how far. For close range, bend your wrist back toward your forearm. This will allow the knife to turn over in the air more quickly as there is only a short distance to your target. For medium range, only slightly bend your wrist back. This will increase the speed of the knife turning in the air. Finally, long range; keep your wrist unbent. This will keep the knife from turning too much in the air.
"Place your weight on your dominant leg, with your non-dominant leg in front of you, keeping the weight in the back leg. Raise your dominant arm as I previously mentioned. Now, most importantly, keep the knife a distance from your face – unless you want your face cut!"
Bruce laughed and so did I.
"Swing the knife forward and shift your weight to the front leg to create momentum. When the arm is straight out in front of you, release the knife. Keep the movement fluid – it is about finesse, not strength."
We spent the next hour practicing with plastic knives, before Josh was happy that we would not kill ourselves or somebody else! I was annoyed to find that Bruce's coordination skills were very good and as good as my own.
Finally, we were both allowed to throw the real blades. I had thrown blades before, in Gotham, but they never really worked for me. Now I had been taught the correct technique, I was much better and having Joshua helping me to aim had me tingling all over!
Josh threw one of his knives into the target.
"See how close you can get to my knife!" He challenged.
My first blade got nowhere near the target, the next did not penetrate, but the third hit – eight inches from Josh's blade. Bruce was next.
The first blade hit the target, but handle first and fell to the floor.
That was depressing, then a soft hand gripped my own and I heard a calm voice in my ear.
"Take your time, feel the blade and think yourself into it and where you want it to penetrate."
I recognised Chloe's voice – I had no idea she was in the Safehouse. I followed her instructions and took a deep breath before lining up my blade. I swung, following through and heard the thud of the knife on wood.
Chloe whooped with joy. I looked at the target and saw my blade just two inches from Joshua's blade.
"Do it again..." Chloe whispered.
I did and my third knife dug into the target between my previous blade and Joshua's knife. I was overjoyed, but my smile faltered when I saw Selina's expression. However, she smiled and congratulated me.
"Thanks, Chloe," I said with a smile.
"I knew you could do it..."
Chloe produced a Balisong from her pocket, flicked it open and threw it, all in one fluid motion. The blade struck within half an inch of the embedded commando knife.
"Yeah, yeah!" A voice growled from behind us and two more Balisongs flew through the air into the target, knocking Joshua's knife out onto the floor.
"Bitch!" Josh growled at the smirking Mindy.